Waterford, East Lyme panel develops new rules for commercial shellfishing
Waterford — The two-town commission charged with regulating shellfishing activity in the Niantic River approved part of a new process for permitting commercial shellfishing in the river on Thursday, an attempt to restart a previously vague process that led the commission to rescind a permit for a controversial shellfish farm proposal last year.
People hoping to use portions of the river for commercial shellfishing now will need to fill out a formal application requiring them to list their intentions, explain the geographic area to be included in the farm, list the equipment they would use and the potential environmental impact.
It was an initial step to re-assess how the commission handles commercial shellfishing in the river after it faced blowback last year over the first commercial application it ever had received or approved.
The commission, which for much of its two decades of existence was mostly responsible for selling recreational shellfishing permits, developed the agreement in 2016 allowing Tim Londregan to use space in the Niantic River to grow juvenile shellfish before moving them into the Niantic Bay.
When town officials and neighbors of the river caught wind of Londregan's proposal, some raised objections, and the commission, made up of both East Lyme and Waterford residents, rescinded the permit.
Commission Chairman Peter Harris said Thursday that the commission is considering a draft of a shellfish plan for the river that would replace a 2002 document that mapped out six possible areas for lease for commercial shellfishing purposes.
In the meantime, Waterford Town Attorney Robert Avena helped the commission develop the formal application for future proposals based on existing regulations in Waterford and East Lyme, as well as the application that Stonington officials use.
"This would be something you would put ... on file for people to fill out, and then we would start the process," Avena said Thursday.
Londregan said Thursday that he still plans to submit a new application to the commission to use two of the parcels outlined in the 2002 shellfish plan: one just north of the Niantic River bridge, and another off the Waterford shore near Niantic River Road and 10th Avenue.
He said his application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for aquaculture in the river still is pending, though it has been modified to remove mention of any aquaculture equipment.
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